Patna: The Patna High Court today issued
notices to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and
Chhattisgarh seeking their stand on allegations of water
pilferage by NTPC from Rihand sub-basin.
The order for issuing notices was given by a division
bench comprising Justices S K Katriar and J N Singh after
hearing a PIL filed by an ex-MLA Saryu Rai from Buxar.
Rai in the PIL had alleged that National Thermal Power
Corporation (NTPC) was pilfering water from Rihand sub-basin
for its projects creating acute irrigation and drinking water
problems in Bihar`s Buxar, Bhojpur, Rohtas, Patna, Kaimur and
Jehanabad districts in the Sone river belt.
Rihand dam is located at Pipri in Sonbhadra district of
Uttar Pradesh and is located on the border with Chhattisgarh.
It is built on Rihand river which is a tributary of Sone
river.
NTPC`s alleged water pilferage is in gross violation of
the Bansagar Agreement, 1973 and also against the guidelines
laid down in the National Water Policy in 1987 through which
top prority was accorded to drinking water and irrigation
facilities for sharing the water from Rihand sub-basin.
PTI
